Farrell's plans Riverside return

11:36 a.m. EST, June 21, 2012|Tiffany Ray, Press-Enterprise

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour will return to Riverside this year with a new restaurant next to Castle Park.

The old-time family-dining chain, well remembered by Southern Californians of a certain age for its eye-popping ice cream concoctions and zany atmosphere, is scheduled to open in an 8,700-square-foot site along Park Sierra Drive, perhaps as early as fall.

It will be the second Inland site and the fifth Farrell's location across the Southland.

Farrell's got its start in 1963 and grew to 130 locations at its peak, including a restaurant in Riverside at what was then Tyler Mall. The chain all but died off in the 1980s after new owners altered the concept. The current owners, Brea-based Parlour Enterprises Inc., began resurrecting the brand in 2009 after a lengthy legal battle.

In addition to Rancho Cucamonga, Farrell's has locations in Santa Clarita, Brea and Mission Viejo. A separate company operates Farrell's in Hawaii.

The revived chain has kept key elements from the past -- the pinstriped vests and cane hats worn by restaurant staff, the in-store candy shop, and signature desserts such as the Pig's Trough and the Zoo, which is carted out to customers on a stretcher while horns and sirens sound.

But owners have updated the menu as well, including gourmet pizzas, sliders, tri-tip and fresh-baked focaccia.

Paul Kramer, president of Parlour Enterprises, said the four existing restaurants routinely draw visitors from a 30-mile radius, and some from even farther away. The Rancho Cucamonga restaurant brings in a lot of customers from Victorville, he said.

The Riverside site, formerly home to a Black Angus restaurant, offered a central location that could draw diners from Corona to Moreno Valley, Kramer said, and its location next to an amusement park makes it an attractive family outing.

Riverside will be the largest Farrell's so far. Some of the extra space will be used to build a larger candy store, a staple of the former Farrell's restaurants. The restaurant is in the design phase now and requires permitting by the city.

The Riverside restaurant will bring with it an estimated 130 jobs. Hiring has begun for management positions; other jobs will be filled in the fall. To apply or for more information, go to http://www.farrellsusa.com.